Employees at Arecibo celebrate their 40 years of accomplishments

By David Brand

ARECIBO, Puerto Rico Just five workers and their families arrived in the hills south of the municipality of Arecibo in early 1960 to begin building the facility that was to become the Arecibo Observatory, home to the world's largest and most-sensitive radar telescope. Today, 40 years later, there are 150 employees, from gate guards to maintenance engineers to staff scientists.

On Sunday evening, Nov. 2, many of those employees gathered to celebrate the telescope's 40th anniversary. And they were told by William (Bill) Gordon, the facility's designer and one of those original five employees, "What you do is important to science and important to mankind."

José Jiménez Sr., left, worked on the Arecibo Observatory construction crew in 1960. Now his son, José Jiménez Jr., right, works at the observatory as an engineer. Both were attending a dinner at the Arecibo Country Club, Nov. 2, in celebration of the observatory's 40th anniversary. Robert Barker/University Photography

At a gala dinner in the Arecibo Country Club, the haunt of original telescope workers decades ago, Arecibo employees past and present shared memories, renewed old acquaintances and celebrated their accomplishment of making possible 40 years of extraordinary scientific discovery.

For many, those memories stretched back to the early days of operation: nine employees were honored for their 35 years of service, 20 for more than 30 years and 47 for more than 20 years. Among the earliest memories of the telescope's development were those of José Jiménez Sr., who was on the construction crew in 1960. Now retired, he was accompanied to the dinner by his son, also José Jiménez, a mechanical engineer supervising the site maintenance staff. "I became an engineer because of my father's association with the observatory," said Jiménez Jr. "I am here because of the observatory and because of him."

Others at the dinner also had memories of those earliest years -- such as Hector Jiménez, who joined the observatory construction crew 41 years ago as a surveyor and now works as a guard. And Victor Iguina, who entered the electronics department straight from school in May 1964, only months after the observatory's inauguration. Iguina, who now works in radar transmission, said he is proud of the fact that soon his nephew will be joining the electronics department.

Working at the Arecibo Observatory also is a family affair for other employees. Angel Vazquez in computer administration was born in Arecibo and grew up in New York City. But in 1977 he returned and now is a network administrator in the computer department; his wife, Eva, also works at the observatory as a data analyst in the atmospheric science department.

For all these people, looking back over the years, the words of Robert Brown, director of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center at Cornell, which manages the telescope for the National Science Foundation, produced knowing nodding of heads. Saluting employee spouses, he said: "Thanks for the times when the phone rings in the middle of the night and the next thing you hear is, 'I have to go to the observatory.' For all those nights that has happened, thank you very much."